The Vulcan nerve pinch was a martial technique developed by the Vulcans. Likely related to neuropressure, it involved applying pressure near the base of the neck, at the shoulder, and nearly instantly rendered the target unconscious, often so fast that the target was unable to cry out, but not always. (TOS: "Day of the Dove")

In at least some cases the results resembled an extreme trauma to the trapezius nerve bundle, as if the neuro-fibers had been ruptured. (VOY: "Cathexis")

The technique did not appear to cause permanent injury and seemed to be effective on most humanoid species. The only Human to have ever been insensitive to it was Gary Seven, possibly because of metabolic alterations obtained on his planet of adoption. (TOS: "Assignment: Earth") When used on Human Augments like Khan Noonien Singh, it caused pain but was not enough to subdue them. (Star Trek Into Darkness) It was proven ineffective on robotic androids when Spock took the time to softly try it on android Alice, who simply asked him calmly if that gesture had any significance. (TOS: "I, Mudd") Vians are unaffected by the nerve pinch.

The Vulcan nerve pinch was referred to as the "Famous Spock Nerve Pinch" or "FSNP" in the scripts of TOS. It was invented for the episode "The Enemy Within" by Leonard Nimoy, who felt that Spock was too dignified to render someone unconscious by striking them over the head. (Star Trek Encyclopedia) The first character on which it was performed was James T. Kirk.

According to Leonard Nimoy, on the "25 year mission tour" video, when he was pitching the idea for the neck pinch, the director asked about it and Nimoy said that Spock was a graduate of the Vulcan Institute of Technology where he took a number of courses on the human anatomy and that Vulcans have a kind of energy that comes off their fingertips, which when applied to certain points on the human neck, it renders the human unconscious. Nimoy said then that the director had no idea what he was talking about but then when he explained it to Shatner, he got it immediately and Nimoy credits Shatner's reaction as to what sold the idea of the neck pinch.

In the Star Trek RPG, published by Last Unicorn Games, the nerve pinch is part of the martial art Taroon-Ifla, the only known martial art which consists of a single advanced technique. Presumably, Taroon-Ifla includes nearly endless variations and applications of the nerve pinch (the Taroon), making it effective on an assortment of lifeforms and includes less aggressive functions, such as healing techniques similar to acupressure.